Weak rand drives local travel
SOUTH African tour
operators are reporting
an upswing in domestic
travel despite the double-digit
second-quarter decline in
domestic trips reported by
South African Tourism.
SAT statistics showed a
16% decline in the number of
domestic trips taken by South
Africans from April to June
this year compared with the
same period last year, when
6,9m trips were recorded.
However, 70% of the 5,8m
trips in Q2 2015 were made
by the VFR market, with only
9% accounting for the holiday
market and 10% for the
business travel market.
In 2015, Q2 bed nights
declined by 9,5% to 21,1m,
down from 23,3m in Q2
2014, but from April to
August 2015 Acsa reports
an increase in domestic
passenger arrivals at all
its international airports
– Cape Town International
Airport (8,4%), OR Tambo
International Airport (10,7%)
and King Shaka International
Airport (4,9%).
A recent study by Travelstart
SA also revealed significant
increases in flight demand on
the Johannesburg-Cape Town
and Johannesburg-Durban
routes when comparing
January to June 2015 with
the same period in 2014.
According to Travelstart,
demand from JohannesburgCape
Town increased by
85% during the period and
by 79% from Cape TownJohannesburg,
while demand
from Johannesburg-Durban
increased by 49% and
Durban-Johannesburg was up
by 39%.
Velma Corcoran, Cape Town
Tourism’s executive manager,
says while domestic travel
in South Africa has been
declining over the past three
years, this new demand for
flights has been driven by
new low-cost carriers entering
the market, creating a heavily
competitive environment that
has seen airfares plummet to
2012 levels.
What’s more, according
to Cape Town Tourism’s
Cape Town Accommodation
Performance Review and
Forecast Report for AprilJune,
52% of those staying
at formal accommodation in
the Mother City were from the
domestic market.
This, says Velma, is an
indicator of the influx of
visiting South Africans to the
Mother City.
Both Thompsons Holidays
and kulula holidays report
an increase in domestic
travel. They put this down
to the weakening rand,
which Thompsons notes
has contributed to the
trend towards shorter
stays overseas and longer
domestic holidays.
“The state of the rand
makes international travel
unaffordable to most,
especially as in-destination
activities and meals add
substantially to travel
itinerary costs. We are seeing
people switch from overseas
holidays to domestic trips
and, if the rand continues
to slide, we foresee travel
in South Africa increasing
further,” says Samantha
Stegmann, kulula holidays’
travel operations manager.
Families opt for shorter,
more frequent breaks
Commenting on the
discrepancy between
SAT’s Q2 results and
the increase in domestic
travel reported by tour
operators, Samantha
says SAT’s statistics are
very broad, covering the
VFR, holiday and business
travel market, while
tour operator statistics
cover mostly the holiday
market and, to a lesser
extent, the business
travel market. “With
the excess airline seat
capacity currently in the
market, which has led to
lower fares, more people
are opting for air travel
rather than travelling by
car or bus. We’ve seen an
increase in uptake of all
our domestic flights and
holiday packages.”
However, John Ridler,
Thompsons Holidays’
pr & media manager,
points out that while
Thompsons Holidays
has seen an increase
in local enquiries, many
travellers planned and
paid for their year-end
overseas holidays much
earlier this year. “It’s
therefore unlikely that
we’ll see a massive swing
to domestic travel this
December, but if the rand
remains weak, we expect
a marked upturn in
demand for local holidays
moving forward.”
Edwin Swan, Dream
Hotels & Resorts
marketing manager, says
while the weak rand and
the unabridged birth
certificate requirements
are acting as deterrents
to international travel,
it’s also just a lot more
convenient for South
African families to travel
within South Africa. “The
diverse range of holiday
destinations and products
available means there’s
something to suit every
interest and budget.
It’s also far easier than
families bundling their
broods on to long-haul
flights, dealing with
visa woes, immigration
regulations and breaking
the bank because our
rand isn’t stretching far
enough.”
He adds that, while going
local is one of the main
trends, Dream Hotels is
also seeing families take
shorter, more frequent
breaks rather than one
long holiday once a year.
“And they’re looking for
activities to do together,
with holiday resorts that
offer a range of activities
capturing their interest.”
Grant Sandham, Premier
Hotels & Resorts group
sales and marketing
manager, also reports an
upswing in bookings from
the South African market
and expects the trend to
continue throughout the
holiday season.
South Africans appear
to be travelling closer to
home even within the local
context, adds Samantha.
“Capetonians are
exploring destinations in
the Western and Eastern
Cape, while Gautengers
are exploring provinces
like Mpumalanga and
North West.”
Barba Gaoganediwe,
Gauteng Tourism’s senior
manager: destination and
corporate communications,
confirms there has been
an increase in the number
of South Africans exploring
Gauteng during the
December festive season
over the past three years.
“More people are staying
home and travelling within
Gauteng during the festive
season because it’s quite
inexpensive with hotels
running specials due to its
being off-season.”
What’s more Samantha
points out that families
have the option of
taking their dogs on
holiday when they travel
domestically. “There’s a
huge range of dog-friendly
accommodation right
up to five-star options
such as The Oyster Box
in Umhlanga and the 12
Apostles Hotel & Spa in
Cape Town.”
Hein Kaiser, Mango
spokesperson, predicts
continued growth in
domestic travel. “There
definitely seems to
be renewed interest
in exploring domestic
destinations.”
Did you know?
Mango was named South Africa’s fastest growing carrier at the recent
World Routes conference held in Durban. Between 2010 and 2014,
Mango increased capacity by 71,3%, while also leading annual growth
in the low-cost sector in 2014, growing by 12,2%. Since its launch
nine years ago, Mango has flown more than 14,2m passengers on an
average of 1 400 flights a month. Nico Bezuidenhout, Mango ceo,
ascribed the growth to competitive network planning and innovation,
countered by prudence. “Mango has been able to respond positively
to market conditions during some of the most challenging periods
in aviation.” Presently Mango’s market share on routes it operates is
26%, says Nico. The airline will be adding additional Boeing 737-
800s to its fleet over the next 18 months.
Festive-season entertainment
in Gauteng
EMPERORS Palace has a
great festive season line-up
with entertainment for the
whole family.
The Simon and Garfunkel
Story, a tribute show, plays
at Theatre of Marcellus from
November 18 to December 6.
Singer Juanita du Plessis
performs at Theatre of
Marcellus on December 11
and 12, followed by
comedian Riaad Moosa,
who performs his one-man
show Dr Moosa Prescribes on
December 13.
On December 18 and 19,
American R&B group, Dru Hill,
appears on the Centre Court
stage.
The popular Garden of
Lights fairy-light spectacle
returns to the D’oreale
Grande hotel’s gardens from
December 4-January 3.
And after 5 000 sold-out
shows in Australia, The Abba
Show plays at the Theatre of
Marcellus from January 22 to February 7,2016
New mountain bike trail at Piekenierskloof
DREAM Hotels & Resorts
recently launched a new
mountain biking trail at
Piekenierskloof Mountain
Resort.
The new trail falls in line
with the Western Cape
government’s strategy to
grow cycling tourism in
the province. In July, Alan
Winde, Western Cape MEC
of Economic Opportunities,
proposed a cycling route
stretching from Cape Town
to Plettenberg Bay (see
TNW July 22, 2015). He
said the aim was to grow
tourism to the Western
Cape and attract 100 000
cyclists each year for event
and leisure cycling. “We
are looking for partners like
Piekenierskloof to launch
initiatives like this to help
us achieve this target,” he
said at the launch of the
Piekenierskloof mountain
bike trail.
Edwin Swan says the
new mountain biking trail is
just one of the key tourist
experiences offered in the
Cederberg region. “Visitors
can see rock art, the
flowers during August and
September, enjoy rooibos
tasting, and soft adventure
like hiking and zip lining.”
Active families staying at
Dream Hotels’ Stonehill
River Lodge in Swellendam
can enjoy river rafting on the
Breede River while the Blue
Marlin Hotel in Scottburgh
on the KwaZulu Natal South
Coast is the ideal base for
diving at Aliwal Shoal.
Book it!
Emperors Palace is offering a choice of Summer Funstays packages from December 14-January 13,
2016 from R460pps including breakfast.
Dream Hotels & Resorts is offering a fully inclusive dinner, bed, breakfast and drinks package at the
Blue Marlin Hotel in Scottburgh from R995pps, valid until December 15.
At Piekenierskloof Mountain Resort in Citrusdal, Dream Hotels is offering a three-night bed and
breakfast package per couple for R2 550, which includes a ride on the zipline and a mountain bike
permit for two. The package is valid from February 1-29, 2016.
Top ideas for family-fun holidays
KULULA holidays offers a
number of options for familyfun
holidays.
At Thandeka Game Lodge in
the Waterberg, families can
enjoy the bush, interact with
cheetah and see white lions.
In the Drakensberg, there’s
great family entertainment
at Alpine Heath Resort, the
Drakensberg Sun Resort,
Cathedral Peak Hotel and
Mont Aux Sources Hotel, with
kids’ programmes, hiking,
golf, outdoor entertainment
and sports actitivites.
At the Wild Coast Sun Resort
& Casino, families can enjoy
the beach, water rides at the
Wild Waves Water Park, water
skiing, speedboat rides, tube
rides, canoeing and more at
Waterworld, as well as horse
riding, golf and tennis.
At the Emerald Resort &
Casino in Vanderbijlpark
kids can enjoy water rides at
the Aquadome, see exotic
animals at Animal World
and interact with farmyard
animals, while dad fishes,
goes wall climbing and plays
adventure golf and moms
can relax at the spa.
At Club Mykonos, Langebaan,
families can enjoy horse
trails, quad biking, mini-golf,
lagoon cruises, archery,
cricket, soccer, hockey,
fishing trips, sunset cruises,
a kids’ club, games room
and more.
The Spier Hotel in
Stellenbosch offers picnics,
wine tasting, art, Segway
tours, eagle encounters, a
craft market, a spa, and a
kids’ club.
14 ‘unusual’ attractions
TNW rounds up some
lesser-known attractions
across South Africa for
agents with travellers
looking for more unusual
experiences.
Go berry picking at Bon-Af
Berry Farm in Parys;
Stay on a working farm at
Babylonstoren near Paarl;
Whale watch, hike and
swim in the De Hoop
Nature Reserve in the
Overberg;
Stay at Shakaland in
Eshowe, originally a film
set for Shaka Zulu and
now a hotel;
Enjoy an evening of
jazz and a meal at
Johannesburg’s The Orbit
jazz club;
Go ziplining, swinging
and abseiling with
Wild5Adventures at Oribi
Gorge;
In Midrand, take the kids
to Bounce trampoline
park for some thrilling
trampoline fun and
ziplining at Acrobranch in
Melrose, Johannesburg;
Go bird watching and
mountain biking in
Soweto;
In Cape Town, dine at
[Spacie], the city’s first
underground restaurant
and private event space;
The Honest Chocolate
Café in The Gin Bar in
Wale Street, Cape Town,
is a café and party venue
in one;
Explore the home of
Gandhi and visit the place
where Mandela first voted
on the Inanda Heritage
Route in KZN;
Lake Eland Game Reserve
near Port Shepstone has
the longest zipline tour
in Africa featuring 14
ziplines;
Enjoy drag racing,
go-karts, super bikes and
cycling at Dezzi South
Coast Raceway in Port
Shepstone;
The Vorna Valley
Neighbourhood Market in
Midrand, which opened
earlier this year, offers a
farmer’s market, car boot
market and kids’, food,
home and leisure zones.
SAT to partner agents in
selling local travel
SOUTH African Tourism
is engaging with Asata
members to help them
inspire South Africans to
travel around their country
and to encourage a culture
of domestic travel.
This comes as SA
Tourism’s domestic
tourism marketing strategy
has been allocated a
budget of R100m this
year, R105m next year and
R107m the following year.
SA Tourism’s current
Sho’t Left domestic
marketing campaign
will be expanded to
include the idea that
there is always a first
time to experience
something new.
